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Foot injury healed, Jones-Drew cleared for training camp

Bob.Mack@jacksonville.com Jaguars head coach Gus Bradley (left) shakes hands with running back Maurice Jones-Drew as they participated in a news conference on Tuesday at EverBank Field. Director of public relations Ryan Robinson stands between them.

Bruce.Lipsky@jacksonville.com--08/31/12--Ryan O'Halloran is the Jacksonville Jaguar beat writer for the Florida Times-Union and Jacksonville.com. He was photographed on Friday August 31, 2012, in Jacksonville, FL. (Florida Times-Union, Bruce Lipsky)

Bob.Mack@jacksonville.com A new Gatorade-sponsored health bar was added to the Jaguars' new training room at EverBank Field.

Maurice Jones-Drew is finally back.

For the first time since he suffered a foot injury in Oakland more than nine months ago, the Jaguars running back will take the field Friday when the Jaguars open training camp.

Jones-Drew has been cleared by the doctors to resume practicing after his Lisfranc injury, but coach Gus Bradley indicated the team will limit his workload in camp.

“He came back and they put him through multiple tests, his cutting and things like that, he did outstanding. You’ll see him out there getting some reps, but we want to be smart with that and bring him along slowly,’’ Bradley said.

Bradley said both Jones-Drew and defensive end Jason Babin, who underwent surgery for a groin injury in June, have been cleared to play.

But wide receiver Justin Blackmon will open camp on the PUP (physically unable to perform list) along with rookie safety Johnathan Cyprien, who suffered a hamstring injury working out last week. Blackman, who is suspended for the first four games for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy, also underwent groin surgery in the offseason.

Now that Jones-Drew is back, the question is whether he can recover his form of two years ago when he was the NFL’s leading rusher.

“I’m the same guy,’’ he said. “That’s how I’ve been training, the same way, like I wasn’t hurt. For me, not playing football for 10 months (closer to nine), not wearing pads, not have that soreness — that’s the thing you want to get used to. Other than that, everything’s natural. I’ve been playing football 20 years.’’

Jones-Drew, who didn’t say what his current weight is, said he has to lose a few pounds, but it won’t be a problem. He said he opened last year at 217 after skipping training camp in a holdout and wants to be about 212 this year.

“I lost a lot of weight, but not everyone’s exactly where they want to be. That comes from me getting in football shape as well, just going out there and practicing, I’ll drop a little bit more. I don’t need to drop much, just maybe a little more so I can be comfortable and ready to play,’’ he said.

Jones-Drew doesn’t seem to be bothered by skeptics who think he may have lost a step in his eighth season after suffering a serious foot injury.

“As I got older, I think my drive to be the best running back is what kind of gets me going, to be the best overall running back. That’s what drives me now. There are people that say things [and] you want to bite your tongue. Everybody has an opinion. So we’ll just see how things play out at the end of the year,’’ he said.

Jones-Drew is entering the final year of his contract, so his status for 2014 is unclear, but said that doesn’t make it a bigger year than normal for him.

“Every year is a big year,’’ he said. “What matters first is on the field and then everything else falls in place.’’

Off the field, Jones-Drew faced offseason allegations that he slugged a bouncer at a St. Augustine restaurant, but prosecutors decided not to file charges.

Asked if that was a relief, he said, “Now that we can talk about football, yeah, it’s a relief. It has been behind me. It was just an unfortunate situation that happened, and I’m just ready for football now. I guess that was a hot story for a while, but now it’s just time to play football.’’

Meanwhile, Bradley sounds excited to start his first training camp.

“I’m fired up for it, there’s no doubt. I love being around our guys. I really gravitate towards players that love football,’’ he said.

His top priority in training camp is deciding whether Blaine Gabbert or Chad Henne will be his starting quarterback. He sounds like he’d prefer to make a decision sooner rather than later.

“We’re going to have to make a decision and, hopefully, it’s not something we do right before the season. We’d like to have it play out earlier than that, but that’s yet to be seen,’’ he said.

Vito Stellino: (904) 359-4279

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